EAST LANSING - There’s been plenty of mystery surrounding the Michigan State football program the past few months. But a few answers became clear at the MSU spring game on Saturday, including how the Spartans may use Battle Creek’s Brandon Randle.

Red-shirting last season, after coming out of high school as a high-profile recruit, Randle, a former Battle Creek Central standout, saw his first taste of action at Spartan Stadium in the annual Green & White Game, which signals the end of spring football practices.

There has been a lot of drama surrounding spring football at MSU this year with a sexual assault investigation, involving unnamed players, ongoing at the school and several players being suspended. Overall, the Spartans had 15 players not in uniform for Saturday's game. Fans and media types were counting who was on the field and who wasn’t while searching for some answers.

But the Green & White game also was a chance to put the focus back on the players on the field, which included Randle. Randle, playing for the White Team, lined up at outside linebacker and played on special teams

"I'm not going to talk about the issues at hand, but when things happen negatively for a group of people, they normally bind together, and they go forward. And that's what our football team has done," Michigan State University football coach Mark Dantonio said. "That's what we have done every single practice this spring. We're 13 through, we have two more practices. We get a lot out of those practices. I think we've had a good, solid spring. We've played a lot of people — a lot of people have gotten reps. That's a big positive for us. We're playing a lot of live, we're doing a lot of things live."

Sean Harrington, left, and Brandon Randle, right, move in to tackle Darrell Stewart Jr. but the whistle was blown before they took Stewart down during the 2017 Green & White football game, Saturday, April 1, 2017, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.(Photo: Matthew Dae Smith | Lansing Stat, MATTHEW DAE SMITH | Lansing Stat)

MSU’s defense featured returning outside linebackers Chris Frey and Andrew Dowell, who will get the first chance to be starters again in the fall. However, Randle came in on the second series on defense at outside linebacker and continued to play in that position off and on throughout the game, getting nearly half of the reps.

With outstanding speed for his size, the 6-foot-2, 226-pound Randle is a natural for special teams and was in on the punt and kickoff teams throughout the game as well, and could very easily be a fixture on those squads when the regular season starts.

MSU didn't allow the media to talk to the players, but Dantonio spoke about the importance of having the game despite the off-the-field problems and getting experience for the younger players in front of a crowd.

"I think we needed to move forward. I talked to our players the other day about how we're going to step into the light. Time marches on," Dantonio said. "This is a big program, and it's a serious situation, but we need to move forward. Our players deserve it, and our fans deserve it. There's always a lot of excitement and anticipation when you come out here in the spring. It's something that's always needed, because there's something more on the table when it's in front of people."

MSU has historically looked to have some fun with its Green & White Game and is always apt to try different things. For example, the game opened with the captains playing rock-paper-scissors for which side of the field they would get, instead of the traditional flip of the coin.

So you can’t take everything that happens in the spring game as a scouting report for the season. However, in that same vein, MSU also often looks to think outside the box in trying to get its best athletes on the field, which could play a part in how the Spartans use Randle. On Saturday, he left his linebacker spot and lined up several times at defensive end in third-and-long situations, looking to use his quickness and pass rushing skills.

MSU’s nationally ranked recruiting class from a year ago saw several players see the field last fall as freshman. However, Randle kept his redshirt and will have four years of eligibility left starting this upcoming fall. If his first game action as a Spartan during the Green and White scrimmage are any indication, the result could be four solid years of playing time in East Lansing for the former Bearcat.